Pours very dark brown which almost seems black color with a foamy 1-2 finger dark tan head that was full of bubbles and faded on the slower side, leaving very good lacing and rings as it went down.

Smells of smoked malt, charcoal and burning campfire wood up front, with burnt coffee, woody notes, cocoa powder, light peat moss, light vanilla or caramel, and just of whiff of floral hops. It is very smoky but somehow a sweetness manages to sneak through like the hops released some citrus fruit and the smoked malt let out some s’mores notes. All in all a very nice smoky nose.

As smoky as the aroma was, the flavor is more burnt malt and coffee, with nice chocolate, toffee, cocoa and smoky sweetness that has a sharp bitterness that seems as much piney or citrus hops as it does smoked malts. Along with the smoked malts/grains comes some herbal notes, grassy hops, light fruit, coffee beans (maybe even vanilla beans), syrup and faint licorice. It is not too smoky like drinking a campfire, it's nice and complex considering that it’s so malt dominant. In a role reversal the hops give the malt a nice backbone, and this is as tasty as I remember it from a few years back.

Mouthfeel is velvety smooth, with a light and almost watery flow that has a medium/lightly chewy body, light carbonation and an ashy bitter aftertaste that is smoky and full of coffee and cocoa powder notes. The finish is close to clean, but leave the smoky flavor lingering like a good cigar. Overall a really solid porter that is well priced and always tasty.

Taste - Big malt. Smokey (again, no surprise). This beer has an acidic black coffee flavor (which is great because I love the flavor of strong black coffee). There is a touch of sweet that works well with the aforementioned bold flavors. As if all that weren't enough, the hops are also vying for your attention.

Mouth - Oily. Slick.

Overall - In the past, I've been a little biased against Stone ales (some of their ales are overly hoppy and their marketing campaign is a little obnoxious). Smoked Porter, however, is a winner. What's most impressive about this beer is that, despite the big flavor, it's still relatively smooth (as a fine Porter should be). Yet another bold and wonderful California ale!